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'Perhaps humankind can't bear too much reality, but neither can it bear too much unreality, too much abuse of the truth.' (Saul Bellow)

'448 OMAR KHAYYÁM Omar had a personality; I, for better or worse, have none. In an hour I’ll have strayed from what I am at this moment; tomorrow I’ll have forgotten what I am today. Those who are who they are, like Omar, live in just one world, the external one. Those who aren’t who they are, like me, live not only in the external world but also in a diversified, ever-changing inner world. Try as we might, we could never have the same philosophy as Omar’s. I harbour in me, like unwanted souls, the very philosophies I criticize. Omar could reject them all, for they were all external to him, but I can’t reject them, because they’re me.' (F Pessoa)

'Mrs Glass looked over, abstractedly, at the blue bathmat, across the tiled floor. Zooey stood as still as possible, in order not to break her mood. "You can't live in the world with such strong likes and dislikes," Mrs Glass said to the bathmat, then turned again toward Zooey and gave him a long look, with very little, if any, morality in it. "Regardless of what you may think, young man," she said.' (JD Salinger)

'Art only begins where imitation ends.' (Oscar Wilde)

'"I like zooey's blog," Steiner would say, "It's the only internet site with a foyer. Saul and I often meet there, by the ethereal kiosk. The ice-cream is splendid."' (ThetisMercurio)

'What is the use of telling people repeatedly that the Society is not a sect and then behave as if it were one?' (Steiner)

'Laughter means distance. Where laughter is absent, madness begins. The moment one takes the world with complete seriousness one is potentially insane.' (Jens Bjørneboe)

'If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.' (Oscar Wilde)

'Let's act like sphinxes, however falsely, until we reach the point of no longer knowing who we are. For we are, in fact, false sphinxes, with no idea of what we are in reality. The only way to be in agreement with life is to disagree with ourselves. Absurdity is divine.' (F Pessoa)

the basics

the posts on this blog are written by alicia hamberg, with the guidance of mr dog, canineosophist, and with inspiration from rudolf steiner, anthroposophist, and the rest of our friends, people, dogs and various strange beings who hang out with us in this extraordinary ethereal kiosk

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a master’s degree in eurythmy

unlikely as it seems, this is what the Rudolf Steiner College in Järna, Sweden, offers in a surprising collaboration with the University of Plymouth. A master’s degree in eurythmy? When did eurythmy become a subject of academic interest, one wonders. Apparently it has, but don’t ask me how. This is the website where the master’s program is presented. Note how the Rudolf Steiner College refers to itself as “Rudolf Steiner University College” (direct quote: “A collaboration between Rudolf Steiner University College Järna, Sweden and the University of Plymouth, England”). Under Swedish regulations, the Rudolf Steiner College is not regarded as a university college, however. (See the list provided by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education.) This suggests their website is misleading, and that they need to reconsider how they represent themselves. The collaboration with a British academic institution doesn’t turn the Steiner college itself into a university college.

The IMP – Eurythmy is result of a fruitful collaboration between the University of Plymouth, with a well-established integrated academic pathway and Rudolf Steiner University College Järna bringing questions of eurythmy into the realm of academic research.

Really? Eurythmy? Somehow I doubt it. What about the requirements on individual master’s degree students attending this program?

A Diploma from a four-year eurythmy training or another fulfilled educational or artistic training on the same level and relevant for the study will demonstrate the candidates’ suitability. The decision can also be based on other qualifications, such as a range of publications or record of thoughtful and innovative professional practice in fields relevant to the study.

I must say that for an academic program, this seems rather strange. It does seem to me that applicants need not even have completed high-school.

Three modules are taught: Eurythmy, art and human development; Eurythmy, music and movement; and Eurythmy, language and movement. In addition, there’s the fourth module, the master’s dissertation. What about the teachers, then?

The tutor team is composed of an international group of experienced eurythmists …

That sounds reassuring. And these eurythmists have academic training? They can guide the students, who are, after all, supposed to complete an academic program?

The aims of this master’s program:

– to give the opportunity to deepen the participants’ own questions on Eurythmy and to undertake research on the value of Eurythmy for human development.
– to place Eurythmy in the context of modern education, artistic development and to promote a dialogue between Eurythmy and mainstream research in these fields
– to enhance the quality of participants’ educational practice and their quality of critical enquiry, innovative thinking and imaginative reformulation.
– to, through dialogue between participants, create a new international network, appropriate to postgraduate study on Eurythmy.

The programme has been validated concerning Europeans standards and an MA: Education-Eurythmy gives you 110 ECTS credits

I do think there are very important questions that need to be voiced in regard to the involvement of the University of Plymouth in this business. Does the university function as some kind of diploma mill, offering collaboration with local foreign schools in return for something else? Why would they want the university’s academic reputation to be tainted by involvement in dubious enterprises abroad, over which they can hardly achieve and maintain sufficient quality control? And why has the Rudolf Steiner college chosen to collaborate with a British institution? I hope this is a good sign — a sign that Swedish universities and university colleges aren’t prepared to offer master’s degrees in eurythmy.

— Rudolf Steiner college or Rudolf Steiner university college, in Järna, is NOT a Swedish högskola, though. It has no official recognition as such. You can easily determine this by going to the website of Högskoleverket. Thus it isn’t a ‘university college’, obviously.

And, no, it isn’t a ‘hate site’, nor is it intended to be. I don’t ‘hate’ the Steiner college. I’m pointing out that it isn’t a university college.